Grab a bus to Disneyland?

A Millarville-based company is looking to take the stress out of a Disneyland trip with its personalized bus trips to the grand-daddy of theme parks.Don Denton
/ Calgary Herald Archives

Photojournalist Paul Nicklen documented the harsh northern landscape in his book Polar Obsession. His work will be showcased as part of a National Geographic Live series at Epcor Centre.Paul Nicklen
/ Paul Nicklen

Photojournalist Paul Nicklen documented the harsh northern landscape in his book Polar Obsession. His work will be showcased as part of a National Geographic Live series at Epcor Centre.Paul Nicklen
/ Paul Nicklen

Photojournalist Paul Nicklen documented the harsh northern landscape in his book Polar Obsession. His work will be showcased as part of a National Geographic Live series at Epcor Centre.

Anyone who has been to one of the Disney parks knows how overwhelming they can be. Attractions are spread over a vast area, it’s noisy, lineups are long and you can easily lose track of what you wanted to see and do.

A new Millarville-based company is looking to take the stress out of a Disneyland trip with personalized tours. What makes this company different from others out there, however, is that the tours are on buses. Golden Tickets Tours heads south from Edmonton on Saturday morning, with stops in Red Deer, Calgary and Lethbridge before arriving in Anaheim the next afternoon. The buses stop along the way three or four times for meals and breaks and there is entertainment on board, which will be key for keeping children occupied for anyone game enough to bring the brood.

Taking kids on a overnight bus trip won’t appeal to everyone, but Golden Ticket owner Karen Chorney says there will be activities to keep them busy, such as pin trading, and families can use the time to learn the ins and outs of the theme park.

Chorney calls herself a Disney expert and anybody who gets married, visits repeatedly and celebrates her 10th wedding anniversary all in a theme park has earned that title.

She wants to pass on that inside knowledge to her clients.

“After talking to friends who had visited Disneyland, we realized that they had missed out on the magical experience they expected because they were overwhelmed by the parks,” said Chorney.

“Disneyland is a big place, with a lot going on ... You really need to know how to get the most magic out of the Magic Kingdom.”

Golden Ticket packages include tickets to Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World and Medieval Times, and accommodations at Stovall’s Inn, a Disney Good Neighbour hotel across the street from California Adventure Park.

Prices are $1,399 for adults, $599 for 2 and under, and their grand opening sale for the first trip over New Year’s (Dec. 28-Jan. 5, 2014) is buy three and get half off the fourth.

Most of us try desperately to escape the dead cold of winter each year. But a renowned photojournalist often runs headlong into the frozen ends of the earth.

Paul Nicklen spent his early years on Baffin Island, growing up alongside the Inuit. Living in such an inhospitable environment gave Nicklen an understanding of harsh ecosystems, and survival skills essential to his work. But underneath that is a love of nature that is evident in his photography.

You can see Nicklen’s work and hear his remarkable tales next month as part of the National Geographic Live speaker series. He will be presenting his new book, Polar Obsession, a retrospective of the Arctic and Antarctic, which garnered four BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards.

Polar Obsession: Photography From the Ends of the Earth is Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. Tickets are $22.50-$50.

Nicklen is now working on a new book after a years-long study of bears. Bear: Spirit of the Wild features photo essays on four signature species — polar bears, black bears, grizzlies, and Spirit Bears.

For more information on the Polar Obsession event, call 403-294-9494 or go to www.epcorcentre.org

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